Method and system for improved e-commerce shopping

ABSTRACT

An e-commerce system and method for presenting product information to a viewer, where a video feed and product information associated with a product that relates to the content in the video feed can be displayed or presented to the viewer on one or more remote display devices.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/792,628, filed Mar. 11, 2013, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/788,615, filed May 27, 2010, nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,423,421, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/330,385, filed Dec. 8, 2008, now issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 7,756,758, the entire contents of each of which areincorporated herein by reference into the present application.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and system for offeringproducts and services via multiple formats. An exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention may include providing a catalog of products to auser, a live video stream showcasing products the user may purchase, andon-demand video streams showcasing products the user may purchase.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material towhich a claim for copyright is made. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but reserves all other copyright rightswhatsoever.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Commerce may be conducted in numerous venues. In particular, commercemay be conducted in real space or electronically, i.e., e-commerce.E-commerce is conducted via a computer network. Servers are used tostore product and transaction information and computer terminals areused by purchasers to access the information stored in the server toview and modify such information via a transaction.

Another form of direct to the consumer product presentation includes avideo feed of products and associated information, presented inconjunction with an ordering mechanism. For example, a televisionchannel may present one or more pieces of jewelry with a phone number tocall to order.

Further, television has evolved past mere broadcast and receipt ofdifferent programs (e.g., one stream per “channel”). Now, a limitedquantity of programming is available “on-demand” (“VOD”). Some VOD is“pay-per-view,” where the viewer is charged a fee for the content. OtherVOD is free, or unlimited with a monthly subscription.

It would be desirable to combine and enhance these features to provide asuperior format for consumers to shop for various goods and/or services.

SUMMARY

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a system may beprovided that includes a video component, a processing component, and acommunication component. For example, an example system may beimplemented with a general purpose computer (“PC”). The 5 example systemmay be a desktop, laptop, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant(“PDA”), smart-phone, television with internal or attached processors(e.g., a “cable-box”), or any number of other systems that provide theessential elements of the present invention.

The system may provide a combination of product presentation tools tofacilitate a diversified shopping experience for the user. For example,the example systems and methods may provide three general presentationformats. First, a user may be able to browse through an electroniccatalog of products. This catalog may contain all of the productsavailable, may contain products that are not available in the otherformats, or may lack some products that are available in the otherformats. Second, the user may be able to see a live video feed. This maybe an ongoing video presentation of different items for sale. Severalcompanies already present products for sale on one or more televisionstations, in one or more broadcast areas. Example embodiments of thepresent invention may tie into that established service and present thelive feed of that on-going program. The program itself may be live orpre-recorded, and the “live” format may present the live feed of theprogram. This program may have information embedded in the feed, such asa textual description about the product and terms of the offering. Theinformation may include a phone number to call to order the product.When transmitted to a passive television, the embedded information maybe the sole source of information about the product or ordering terms.However, when accessed via a system according to an example embodimentof the present invention, additional information or options may beprovided by the example system, while presenting the program. An examplemay include an alternative purchasing mechanism, such as an e-commerceorder form provided in conjunction with the presented item.Alternatively, a link to the page in the online catalog where thecurrently presented product is available for purchase may be provided.This page may be a webpage accessible by the interne, a set-top box pagedisplayed on a television, or any number of other interactive displaypages. Additional information about the product, interactive sets ofinformation, recommendations of similar products, advertisements, or anyother relevant material may be presented in conjunction with the productpresentation.

A third format that may be provided by example embodiments of thepresent invention is a VOD product presentation system. This portion ofexample embodiments may include multiple presentations to choose from,preferably organized into categories (e.g., “home and garden,”“jewelry,” “apparel,” etc.). Any number of subcategories may also beused in this 5 section. The VOD section may include live feeds, similarto the “live” section, may include stored video, or may be a combinationof the two. The stored video may include previously aired “live”segments of products still available for purchase, and may includesegments only available in the VOD section (e.g., not previously airedin the “live” section).

Example embodiments of the present invention may include a method ofpresenting e-commerce products. The method may include providing a userinterface. The method may include displaying a plurality of productcategories. The method may include receiving user input selecting one ofthe plurality of product categories. The method may include displaying avideo feed, where the video feed is streamed from a VOD server, andwhere the video feed includes video presentations of products for sale,where the products for sale are all of a type belonging to the selectedproduct category. The method may include displaying a link in proximityto an area displaying the video feed, where the link providesinformation about a product currently being presented in the video feed.Responsive to user input selecting the link, the method may displayadditional information about the product currently being presented. Themethod may include providing a user input mechanism, associated with thelink, for indicating a desire to purchase an item associated with thelink (e.g., a “buy now” button). The method may include displaying asecond link in proximity to the link, where the second link providesinformation about a product that was previously presented in the videofeed. The method may include restarting the video feed at a startingpoint for a presentation of a product associated with the second link,responsive to the user clicking on the second link. The method mayinclude displaying a third link in proximity to the link, where thethird link provides information about a product that will besubsequently presented in the video feed. The method may includeadvancing the video feed to a starting point for a presentation of aproduct associated with the third link, responsive to clicking on thethird link. The video feed may be pre-recorded and stored on a server.The method may include providing an option, selectable by the user, todisplay a live video feed, and displaying the live video feed,responsive to a selection by the user.

An example embodiment of the present invention may include a method ofe-commerce including serving a plurality of video streams to a pluralityof user devices, receiving input from a user requesting a particularvideo stream of the plurality, streaming the requested video stream tothe user, providing information about a product for sale, where theproduct is presented in the particular video stream, and receiving inputfrom the user requesting to purchase the item. The plurality of videostreams may be organized into a plurality of categories. At least onecategory may be organized into a plurality of sub-categories. Thestreaming may be performed over a television transmission network or acomputer network.

Example embodiments of the present invention may include an e-commercesystem, including a computer with a display, where the system isconfigured to provide a set of user interfaces. The example system mayhave a first user interface configured to receive and display videoreceived from a VOD system, where the VOD system includes a plurality ofvideo segments, where each segment includes a presentation of at leastone product available for sale, where the plurality of video segmentsare organized in a plurality of categories, and where at least onecategory is organized in a plurality of sub-categories. Also, the firstuser interface may be configured to receive user input selecting adesired category from the plurality of categories. The first userinterface may be configured to display one or more video segmentsassociated with the desired category. The first user interface may beconfigured to display information associated with a product, where theproduct is presented in a currently playing video segment. The firstuser interface may be configured to receive input from a user indicatinga desire to purchase the product. One or more video segments associatedwith the desired category may be displayed one at a time in apredetermined order. The user interface may be configured to display aplurality of links, where each link is associated with a product, wherethe links are organized in an order according to the predetermined orderof the one or more video segments. The user interface may be configuredto display a video segment associated with a link, responsive to theuser selecting the link.

An example embodiment of the present invention may include producing acontinuous set of video segments, each segment featuring a product orset of products for sale. The example method may broadcast this orderedset as a “shop at home” television program. The continuous set may bepartitioned into the individual segments and stored on a video server.The segments may be tagged with various categories, attributes, andfeatures. The example method may then provide users with a userinterface (UI). The UI may display the broadcast program and may enhancethe broadcast program with additional information and options related tothe featured product. The UI may provide a VOD system, where users maystream different sets of video segments, and the UI may provideenhancements for those video segments. The UI may provide 5 ane-commerce catalog, where each product in the catalog has variousdescriptions, and each product has a video segment associated with theproduct. The associated video segment may feature that product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 to 12 are exemplary user interfaces, according to exampleembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a system diagram, according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the VODpresentation format, according to an example embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the VODpresentation format, according to an example embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the VODpresentation format, according to an example embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the VODpresentation format, according to an example embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 18 to 27 are exemplary user interfaces, according to exampleembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a system may beprovided that includes a video component, a processing component, and acommunication component. For example, an example system may beimplemented with a general purpose computer (“PC”). The example systemmay be a desktop, laptop, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant(“PDA”), smart-phone, television with internal or attached processors(e.g., a “cable-box”), or any number of other systems that provide theessential elements of the present invention.

The system may provide a combination of product presentation tools tofacilitate a diversified shopping experience for the user. For example,the example systems and methods 5 may provide three general presentationformats. First, a user may be able to browse through an electroniccatalog of products. This catalog may contain all of the productsavailable, may contain products that are not available in the otherformats, or may lack some products that are available in the otherformats. Second, the user may be able to see a live video feed. This maybe an ongoing video presentation of different items for sale. Severalcompanies already present products for sale on one or more televisionstations, in one or more broadcast areas. Example embodiments of thepresent invention may tie into that established service and present thelive feed of that on-going program. The program itself may be live orpre-recorded, and the “live” format may present the live feed of theprogram. This program may have information embedded in the feed, such astextual description about the product and terms of the offering. Theinformation may include a phone number to call to order the product.When transmitted to a passive television, the embedded information maybe the sole source of information about the product or ordering terms.However, when accessed via an example embodiment of the presentinvention, additional information or options may be provided by anexample system, while presenting the program. An example may include analternative purchasing mechanism, such as an e-commerce order formprovided in conjunction with the presented item. Alternatively, a linkto the page in the online catalog where the currently presented productis available for purchase may be provided. Additional information aboutthe product, interactive sets of information, recommendations of similarproducts, advertisements, or any other relevant material may bepresented in conjunction with the product presentation.

A third format that may be provided by example embodiments of thepresent invention is a VOD product presentation. This portion of exampleembodiments may include multiple presentations to choose from,preferably organized into categories (e.g., “home and garden,”“jewelry,” “apparel,” etc.). Any number of subcategories may also beused in this section. The VOD section may include live feeds, similar tothe “live” section, may include stored video, or may be a combination ofthe two. The stored video may include previously aired “live” segmentsof products still available for purchase, and may include segments onlyavailable in the VOD section (e.g., not previously aired in the “live”section). FIG. 1 illustrates one possible layout for a “home screen” ofa user interface. On this screen the three product presentation formatsare displayed for selection by the user. FIGS. IB to ID illustrate otherexample layouts for the “home screen” of the user interface.

FIGS. 2 to 2D illustrate example embodiments of a “home” page for the“live” feed portion of example user interfaces. As illustrated, thisscreen may include information about the current show/host/guest, next(e.g., “coming up”) show/host/guest, or any other relevant information(e.g., 210). Information about the current product, along with a “buy”option, may be provided to the user (e.g., 220). Previous products andup-coming products may also be presented adjacent to the currentproduct. The user may be able to scroll through these products topreview and/or buy them. However, the user cannot advance the “live”video to future segments/products, because they are in the “live”section. However, the user may be allowed to “rewind” or replay previoussegments, or pause the current feed. This would be a “live’ VVOD hybridfunction similar to digital video recording technology provided forpausing live television. Alternatively, the user may be given no optionto pause/replay, and would need to access the prior videos in the VODsection, once available. Regardless of the replaying function in the“live” section, a user may be allowed to preview and purchase prior orfuture items (e.g., as illustrated in the dashed-line box 220).Alternatively, this feature may not be provided, and a user may belimited to purchasing the active item only, and only while that item isactive. This embodiment may be advantageous by encouraging the user topurchase a desired item, instead of procrastinating and then forgettingto purchase the desired item.

FIGS. 3 to 3D illustrate example embodiments of the user interface forthe VOD portion of the present invention. Here, as illustrated in FIG.3, after the user has selected the VOD option, the user is presentedwith various options. Section 310 shows a scroll list of variouscategories the user may select from. “Today's Features” is shownhighlighted because this category is playing in the video portion of theinterface (e.g., 330). A category (e.g., “Today's Features”) may be setas the default, and automatically load upon entering the VOD section(e.g., FIG. 3). Any other default is possible, including the liveprogram, advertisements, or any of the other available categories.Additionally, default play may be based on a user's purchase history,view history, or stated/derived preferences. For example, the defaultvideo may be the product within a selected category that the most peoplebought, of the people who bought items similar to those the current userbought. Dashed-line box 350 of this example interface shows three itemboxes. The box in the middle of 350 may include the item that iscurrently being displayed in the video portion of the interface (e.g.,330). As is illustrated, the item may include a “buy” option for theuser to purchase the item currently being presented. The other boxes of5 350, of which two are illustrated but any number is possible, mayillustrate the items that are presented in the video before and/or afterthe current item. Selecting these buttons may restart the video at thebeginning of the presentation for that product. Alternatively, selectionof a different product may provide “preview” information and an optionthe user may select to restart the video at that item. This laterembodiment allows a user to watch a presentation of interest, whilebrowsing the other items available. The item boxes of 350 do notnecessarily need to correlate with the video feed schedule. Regardlessof which product presentation is currently playing, previously played,or scheduled to play, the selectable items of box 350 may be associatedwith any products within the previously selected category.Alternatively, the items may be product suggestions related to thecurrently viewed product and the suggestions may be from the samecategory or a different category. Example embodiments may have bothoptions: first providing links to the products corresponding to thevideo feed order, and upon user selections, may change to other relevantproducts.

The presentation in this section may include additional features forease of use. For example, center-focused menus (e.g., menus where theactive item is in the center) may have both scroll arrows and activate adelayed scroll when the selection pointer (e.g., mouse) is above orbelow the active item, but within the menu area. For example, if a userpointed to an area of 310 just below “Today's Features,” after a delay,the menu may slowly begin to scroll “down” (i.e., in the direction ofmaking “Kitchen & Dining” the active item). Further, if the user pointedto an area of 310 further down (e.g., near “Crafts & Sewing”), the menumay scroll “down” faster. The same feature, but in the opposite scrolldirection, applies to the user pointing to areas above the active item.The same features may apply to 350, and any other scrollable menu ofexample embodiments. An additional feature may include video looping.The video currently playing may be set to restart upon completion.Alternative implementations are also possible, such as advancing to thevideo of the next product, or simply ending the video presentation. Itis also possible to provide more category levels than those illustratedin 310. This may include additional category sections, or replacing thecurrent category (e.g., 310) with the next category selected by theuser. In the latter embodiment, “forward” and “back” buttons may beprovided to navigate the hierarchy of categories. An example of this mayinclude: Live programs or Prerecorded programs. Each of those may thenbe followed by categories 310 that apply to the respective “parent”category. Each of these categories (e.g., “Jewelry”) may also be dividedinto sub-categories (e.g., gold, silver, diamonds, etc.).

FIG. 3B illustrates an example user interface after a category has beenselected (e.g., 312 “Beauty”). 311 illustrates an example of thepreviously mentioned “back” navigation option, which may be used toreturn to the list of categories (e.g., 310). Here, in 333 of FIG. 3B,various sets of videos are presented for selection. The exampleinterface may default to a “watch all” set, which may include all of thevideos in that category. “Most popular,” “newest,” “best selling,” orany number of other attribute sets could be constructed. Also, the videoarea may play something else, such as an advertisement. Additionally,the default setting may not be “universal,” but rather specific to eachuser. In this way, the default channel may be the channel most oftenselected by that user, the channel of products most often purchased bythat user, or the channel matching preferences set by the user.Likewise, user preferences or activity history may be used to setdefaults in any other portion of the example embodiments.

In addition to videos designed to present the product for purchase,there may be videos in the “Educational” section designed to teach thepurchaser how to best use the product. Here, product demonstrations,tips, and how-to videos may be available for any number of products in20 this general category. An advantageous user feature is to have theselected category “Beauty” move (e.g., via animation) from its originalposition (e.g., the middle of 310) to 311. This may help the userassociate the “back” navigation button with its function.

Once video play begins, the currently presented product may behighlighted (e.g., center-focused, illuminated, enlarged, etc.) with a“buy” option. Previous and future products of the current stream may beshown adjacent to the highlighted product. Along with the “buy” option,information may be presented along with the product, such as currentprice. One example embodiment of the “highlighting” may include agradient back-lighting. For example, the featured item (e.g., icon link)may have a background graphic consisting of a color gradient centeredbehind the featured item (e.g., icon link) and consistent with the colorscheme of the current user interface (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 21).This highlighting, along with the other example embodiments of thisfeature, may apply to any aspect of an example embodiment where userselection is available (e.g., the category list, the product catalog,the video list, etc.).

It may be noted, that when a program is originally aired (e.g., on atelevision station), a graphic is often displayed with certain timesensitive information (e.g., price, quantity, etc.). There are a numberof ways to address this when replaying the video later. One way is topresent a disclaimer/warning: “Prices shown on the previously recordedvideo may not represent the current price.” Alternatively, advantageousmethods may include: routing the original feed to the VOD recorder priorto that feed passing through the graphics device, or otherwise storingthe video without the time sensitive information displayed.Alternatively or additionally, example embodiments may “overlay” a newgraphic is the spot of the old graphic, with updated information. Thismay be done to conceal the old information, or to enhance the videostored without the old information. The overlay may be performed at theusers machine (e.g., the computer), or may be performed at the VODserver prior to or during the streaming. A VOD server may be one or moreservers optimized for streaming video, or may be a general purposecomputer capable of streaming video segments as described herein. TheVOD server may use a file storage structure with meta-data, may use adatabase storage system (e.g., a series of vlobs), or any othermulti-media storage and streaming configuration. FIGS. 3C to 3Eillustrate other example user interfaces similar to 3A and 3B.

FIGS. 4 to 4D illustrate example embodiments of the product catalog or“All Products” section. As illustrated in FIG. 4, there may be a set of“store fronts,” and a scroll bar to view more store fronts. Each ofthese may be the categories previously discussed (e.g., “Health,”“Beauty,” “Apparel,” etc.). FIGS. 5A to 5H illustrate furthersub-category progressions. In FIG. 5A, “Departments” are listed underthe “Beauty” category selected from the interface shown in FIG. 4. FIG.5B illustrates a set of categories under “Makeup,” which the user mayselect. Once the user has selected the illustrated categories, the usermay select “view products” or any other similar action button (e.g.,“submit”). The user may then be brought to a page such as the oneillustrated in FIG. 6. Here, (e.g., at 620) the user may refine the setof items even further. Refinement criteria could be anything, such asbrand, price, size, color, etc. Further, once the final set of resultsis provided, the user may then sort by a criteria, e.g., provider picks,most popular, price, etc. A final set of products may be presented insorted order, e.g., 650. The user may then select a product to previewand/or purchase, or scroll through the different pages of products.Advantageously, when the user positions a pointing device over an item(e.g., a mouse) or clicks on an item, that entry may enlarge, highlight,illuminate, etc. The selected item may also load preview information inanother portion of the screen, e.g., 630. FIGS. 6B to 6D illustratealternative example embodiments similar to FIG. 6. Other layouts arepossible, e.g., FIG. 7.

FIGS. 8 to 8D illustrate a product detail page. These are exampleembodiments of the user interface after the user selects one of theproducts from FIG. 6, for example. As illustrated, there may be relatedproducts, product pictures, product details, a purchase option, and arelated video. The video portion could be a stream of the VOD segmentwhere that product was presented for purchase. In this way, the productdetail page of the product catalog (e.g., FIG. 8) is similar to anactive VOD page (e.g., FIG. 3). Also, the product detail page (e.g.,FIG. 8) may be accessible from the VOD page (e.g., FIG. 3), or from anypart of the embodiment that includes the product. Upon entering theproduct detail page, the associated video may automatically beginplaying. However, if no video is associated with the product yet, thisarea may display a single image of the product, a slideshow of theassociated images, an advertisement, or any number of other things.FIGS. 9 to 9C illustrate example embodiments of the product detailsscreen with an expanded textual description section. FIGS. 10 to 10Dshow an additional detail screen which may be used with products thathave various options (e.g., size, color, etc.).

Example embodiments of the present invention may include areas ofinteractive help topics related to any of the provided features and/orproducts. FIGS. 11 to 11C illustrate examples of a “Help Center”interface. This example includes a help topic menu similar to thepreviously discussed category menus. Additionally, there is aninformation box 1110. This could be textual information, an explanatoryvideo, animations, or any number of other help presentations. Users ofthe example system may be able to create an account to save theirinformation and/or the state of the items in their “shopping cart. FIG.12 illustrates an example log-in screen for that account. This examplealso provides a number entry option for entering numbers with thepointing device. E-commerce accounts are known in the art, andembodiments of the present invention may implement any number of knownfeatures in conjunction with the features discussed above.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram that illustrates exemplary components of asystem according to an example embodiment of the present invention. Thesystem may include a VOD server 1300, a product information and salesserver 1301, a computer terminal network 1302, and a television network1306 including a plurality of set-top boxes 1308, each of which isassociated with a corresponding TV 1309 and corresponding input device1310, such as a remote control. The set-top boxes 1308 may be separatefrom or integrated with their corresponding TVs 1309. This embodimentillustrates two user device networks (e.g., a TV network and a computernetwork), but example embodiments may include only one of the two and/oradditional types of devices (e.g., cell-phones, PDAs, portable gamesystems, etc.). The product information and sales server 1301 may storeimages and details about the various products for sale. Additionally,the product information and sales server 1301 may be configured tofacilitate the e-commerce and account maintenance functions of theexample embodiment. The video server 1300 may store video segments forone or more products available for sale. The video segments may includepreviously televised segments produced to present and sell the featuredproduct. Example embodiments may have additional “live” feeds connectedto the network (not shown).

Each of the server 1300, product information and sales server 1301,terminals 1303, and set-top-boxes 1308 may be controlled by acorresponding processor(s) (e.g., 1315A-C), (collectively referred toherein as processor 115). The processor 115 may be any one orcombination of suitably appropriate processing systems, such as, forexample, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, and a fieldprogrammable logic array. The processing system may be embodied as anysuitably appropriate computing device, e.g., a computer, PDA, laptopcomputer, notebook computer, a hard-drive based device, or any devicethat can receive, send, and store data. For the control, the processors115 may execute program instructions. Some of such instructions may bepre-installed or manually loaded over time. Others may be transmittedbetween the different system components. Program instructions may be inany suitable form. Some or all of the instructions may be provided inprograms written in a self-describing computer language, e.g., HyperText Markup Language (HTML) or extensible Markup Language (XML). Otherinstructions may be in pre-compiled languages such as C, C++, and basic,or in “just in time” compiled languages such as Java and Microsoft .NET.Transmitted program instructions may be used in combination with otherpreviously installed instructions, e.g., for controlling a manner ofdisplay of data items described in a received program markup sheet.

Each of the server 1300, product information and sales server 1301,terminals 1303, and set-top-boxes 1308 may include or be incommunication with memories (e.g., 116A-C), 5 (collectively referred toherein as memory 116), for storing data and/or program instructions. Thememory 116 may include any combination of memory circuits, includingelectrical, magnetic, and/or optical systems. The memory 116 mayinclude, for example, read only memory (ROM), random access memory(RAM), and/or bulk memory.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example embodiment of the present invention.First, at 1400, the example method may provide a user with the threepresentation formats, e.g., VOD, Live, and the product catalog. Thisstep will remain the same in the next two Figures, and FIG. 14 willillustrate one example of the VOD format. For example, if the userselects the VOD format at 1405, the example method may display thevarious product categories, at 1410. Next, at 1415, the example methodmay receive a category selection from the user (e.g., as illustrated inFIG. 15 3). Next, at 1420, the example method may display a video feedfrom a VOD server 1401. This video feed may include a series of productpresentation segments that are all in the selected category. The videosegments may be stored in a segmented format and pre-arranged orrandomly selected. Alternatively, the video segments may be stored in acombined format with an inherent order. At 1425, in conjunction with1420, the example method may provide product links, icons, information,and/or function buttons (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 4). At 1430, if auser selects a particular product, the example method may provideadditional information about the particular product. Additionally, theselection of a product that is not currently being presented in thevideo feed, may cause the video feed to advance to the presentation ofthe selected product. Selection of the product may also bring the userto that product's entry in the product catalog (e.g., as illustrated inFIG. 10).

FIG. 15 illustrates an example embodiment of the present invention andthe “Live Feed” format. At 1500, the user is again given the option ofVOD, Live, or Catalog. At 1521, after the user selects the Live Feedformat at 1506, the example method may display the live feed from theproduction studio 1502. FIG. 15 illustrates a live feed leaving theproduction studio to the example method, and also sending the live feedto the VOD server 1501. However, alternative embodiments may have thefeed passing through one or more servers (including the VOD server)before streaming to the user who selects the “live” format.Additionally, live may be a truly live production, performed andtransmitted directly to the viewers. Alternatively, the transmission maybe buffered or time-delayed. The “live” transmission may be a stream ofa 5 rerecorded production that may have been an edited production or a“live to tape” production. As illustrated, the “live feed” may generallybe any feed that is being transmitted irrespective of a user request forthe program. As compared to the VOD feeds, which are stored on the VODserver 1501 until requested by a user, and then streamed to therequesting user. The example method may provide product links, icons,information, function buttons, etc., at 1526 (e.g., as 10 illustrated inFIG. 5). If the product is selected at 1531, the example method mayprovide additional information about the product at 1536. This mayinclude taking the user to the product catalog page associated with theuser.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example embodiment of the present invention andthe “Product Catalog” format. At 1600, the user is again given theoption of VOD, Live, or Catalog. At 1612, after the user selects theproduct catalog format at 1607, the example method may display theproduct catalog with search options and filter settings. These werepreviously discussed with respect to FIGS. 6 to 8, and may include anynumber of attributes. At 1617, the example method may receive the user'sselections and at 1622 provide the resulting products (e.g., asillustrated in FIG. 8). At 1623, the example method may next receive auser selection for a particular product from among the resultingproducts. At 1627, the example method may provide product details, forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 10. One aspect of this may be to providea video presentation of the selected product, e.g., at 1630. This maycause the VOD server to stream that product's video presentation withinthe product details screen. At 1625, the example method may providepurchase options, or any number of other functions to facilitate thesale of the particular product.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example embodiment method of the three formatproduct presentation system. At 1700, the example method may facilitatethe production of video segments, each segment featuring a particularproduct or set of products for sale. This may be a “shop at home”television studio that traditionally produces live segments featuring aproduct, 30 information about the product, and a phone number forordering the product. The segments are then broadcast over thetelevision airwaves, satellite signals, cable lines, and any number ofother transmission mediums (e.g., fiber optic). At 1705, live feed 1701is broadcast to various viewers. The live feed 1701 may consist of anynumber of formats, including the internet, cable, satellite (e.g.,direct broadcast satellite, “DBS”), “teleco” (e.g., phone linenetworks), fiber optics, etc.

At 1710, the example method partitions the segmented video into therespective segments. Meaning, the continuous feed coming from theproduction studio is broken into each individual segment, where eachsegment presents a product or set of products. t 1715, the segments maythen be stored in the VOD server 1701. Example embodiments may notactually partition the video feed into different digital entities (e.g.,video files), but rather store the digital feed as one or more blocks,where each block includes several “segments.” In this embodiment, theblocks may be virtually partitioned via one or more methods. Forexample, a database of meta-data may be maintained, recordinginformation about logical partitions in the video (e.g., Product ID 4presentation begins at this date/time stamp and lasts for 12 minutes,etc.). Other organizational schemes are possible as well. Also, at 1720,the example method may tag each segment with other meta-data. Forexample, a segment featuring $10 lipstick may be tagged with the“Beauty” category, “Makeup” sub-category, and $10 price attribute. Otherattribute tags are possible, such as color, brand, etc. The “tagging”may be done by inserting meta-data into the video file. Additionally oralternatively, “tagging” may use a pointer system, and exampleembodiments may maintain a meta-data database where each record isassociated with one or more video file identifiers. The exampleembodiments may store additional databases, including play-lists forvarious sets of clips (e.g., a default play-list for the “Beauty”category).

Next, from 1730 on, the example procedure is similar to the exampleembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 14, 15, and 16. At 1730, the examplemethod may provide a user interface with options for the VOD format,live format, and product catalog. The user may select one of the threeoptions. For example, the live option will display the live feed at1738. The live feed may not actually go directly to the example methodfrom the same source as the broadcasted feed, but may alternatively bepassed through any number of other streaming video servers. The livefeed displayed at 1738 is generally a video feed being broadcastindependent of any particular user requesting its transmission.Alternatively compared to 1733, where the example method provides theVOD format. Here, the VOD server 1701 streams only the video segmentsrequested by a user. For example, at 1743, the example method mayprovide and display an ordered stream of video segments according topreferences selected by a user (e.g., the previously mentionedcategories and filters). The third format, the product catalog, may bepresented at 1735. Here, upon selection of a particular product, the VODserver 1701 may stream the video segment associated with that particularproduct, as part of the product details page for the particular product.

An example embodiment of the present invention is directed to one ormore computer processors configured to operate according to a set ofinstructions stored on a hardware-implemented computer readable mediumto perform the methods described above, separately or in combination.

An example embodiment of the present invention is directed to ahardware-implemented computer-readable medium having stored thereoninstructions adapted to be executed by the computer for performing themethod described above, separately or in combination.

An example embodiment of the present invention is directed to a methodof using a communication device to transmit data representinginstructions, the data and represented instructions executable by aprocessor to perform the methods described above, separately or incombination.

An example embodiment of the present invention is directed to a displaydevice and/or interactive computer system via which to present thevarious passive and/or interactive user interface screens describedabove.

Example embodiments of the present invention are directed to noveldesigns of the various user interface screens described above.

Example embodiments have been described above with reference toe-commerce “products.” “Products” is used for illustrative purposes andas a broad descriptive term. For example, all of the example embodimentsdescribed above may be implemented for services or a combination ofphysical goods and services. “Products” may include physical products,product rentals, digital products (e.g., a software download), and/orservice products.

Example embodiments have been described above with reference to “videostreams.” “Video” is used for illustrative purposes and as a broaddescriptive term. For example, the video streams and/or stored video mayinclude a synchronous audio stream presented with the video feed. Theaudio stream may be stored separately or together with the video stream.The audio stream may be streamed separately or together with the videostream. Further, example embodiments may present video without audio,and likewise the methods described above with respect to “video” may beapplied to collecting, storing, and streaming audio without a videocomponent.

Several illustrated example embodiments illustrate a series of linesfrom the bottom of the interface to the middle. The distance between thelines is increasingly greater toward the bottom of the interface. Theselines may be literal lines illustrated in the interface. Alternatively,the lines represent a three dimensional arrangement of the interfaceand/or 10 background of the interface. This progressive gradient issometimes referred to as a “table-top” effect, and illustrates a surfacespace design of the interface. These embodiments are illustrative andnot limiting, as any number of other embodiments may provide theinventive features described above.

Additional example user interface layouts are illustrated in FIGS. 18 to27. FIGS. 18 to 23 are similar in layout to FIGS. 1 to 6 respectively,and FIGS. 24 to 27 are similar in layout to FIGS. 8 to 11 respectively.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate from the foregoing descriptionthat the present invention can be implemented in a variety of forms.Therefore, while the embodiments of this invention have been describedin connection with particular examples thereof, the true scope of theembodiments of the invention should not be so limited since othermodifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon astudy of the drawings and specification.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of presenting product informationon a display device, the method comprising: displaying, via the displaydevice having a screen, a live video feed on the screen, wherein thelive video feed is associated with a product; accessing metadata in atleast one of a video file of the live video feed or a databaseassociated with the live video feed, the metadata indicating video fileidentifiers relating to the product associated with the live video feed;identifying, based on the accessed metadata, a plurality of productcategories with at least one of the plurality of product categoriesincluding the product associated with the live feed; embedding, with thelive video feed, program instructions for displaying the plurality ofproduct categories and transmitting the embedded program instructionsand live video feed to the display device; based on the programinstructions, concurrently displaying on the screen of the displaydevice the plurality of product categories in conjunction with the livevideo feed; receiving, via an input device, user input selection of oneof the plurality of product categories; responsive to a user selecting aparticular category of the plurality of product categories, concurrentlydisplaying a plurality of product links on the screen in conjunctionwith at least one of the plurality of product categories and the livevideo feed, wherein each link is associated with a product of theselected category and includes information related to an associatedproduct; and responsive to a user selecting a particular link of theplurality of product links, providing for display on the screen aprerecorded video presentation of a product for sale associated with theparticular link, wherein the prerecorded video presentation is streamedfrom a server, and wherein the product for sale is a product of theselected category.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdisplaying a user input mechanism on at least a portion of the screen,the user input mechanism being configured to enable the user to purchasean item associated with the selected link.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the prerecorded video presentation includes a plurality of videosegments, each segment presenting a product or set of products, whereinthe segments are in a first order, and wherein the plurality of productlinks are displayed in a second order based at least in part on thefirst order.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality ofproduct links includes an image of a product in the selected productcategory.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information related toan associated product includes an image of the associated product. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the prerecorded video presentationautomatically begins playing on the screen in response to the userselecting the particular link of the plurality of product links.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the prerecorded video presentation is playedin response to the user selecting the prerecorded video presentation tobe played on the screen.
 8. A method for presenting product informationon a display device, the method comprising: displaying, via the displaydevice having a screen, a live video feed on the screen, wherein thelive video feed is associated with a product; storing a plurality ofvideo segments in a server, at least one video segment including aproduct presentation associated with a respective product of a pluralityof products; accessing metadata in at least one of a video file of thelive video feed or a database associated with the live video feed, themetadata indicating video file identifiers relating to the productassociated with the live video feed; identifying, based on the accessedmetadata, a plurality of product links with at least one of theplurality of product links relating to the product associated with thelive feed; embedding, with the live video feed, program instructions fordisplaying the plurality of product links and transmitting the embeddedprogram instructions and live video feed to the display device; based onthe program instructions, concurrently displaying on the screen inconjunction with the live video feed, the plurality of product linksassociated, respectively, with the plurality of products; and responsiveto a user selecting a particular link from the plurality of links,providing for display on the screen the video segment associated withthe respective product associated with the selected link.
 9. The methodof claim 8, further comprising: providing a video stream including anordered presentation of the stored video segments; and streaming thevideo stream in response to the user selection of the particular linkfrom the plurality of links, wherein the video stream begins at thepoint in the ordered presentation where the product presentationassociated with the particular product selected begins.
 10. The methodof claim 9, further comprising providing additional information on atleast a portion of the screen, the additional information relating toeach product presented in the video stream.
 11. The method of claim 9,where the streaming is performed over at least one of a televisiontransmission network and a computer network.
 12. The method of claim 8,further comprising displaying a user input mechanism on at least aportion of the screen, the user input mechanism being configured toenable the user to purchase an item associated with the selected link.13. The method of claim 8, wherein the video segment automaticallybegins playing on the screen in response to the user selecting theparticular link of the plurality of product links.
 14. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the video segment is played in response to the userselecting the video segment to be played on the screen.
 15. A system forpresenting product information on a display device, the systemcomprising: a database configured to store a plurality of prerecordedvideo presentations associated with a plurality of products for sale,and related to a plurality of product links each associated with arespective prerecorded video presentation; a server configured totransmit to a remote display device having a screen, a live video feedrelating to a product to be displayed on the screen; and a processorconfigured to access metadata in at least one of a video file of thelive video feed or a database associated with the live video feed, themetadata indicating video file identifiers relating to the productassociated with the live video feed, identify, based on the accessedmetadata, a plurality of product categories with at least one of theplurality of product categories including the product associated withthe live feed, embed, with the live video feed, program instructions fordisplaying the plurality of product categories and control the server totransmit the embedded program instructions and live video feed to theremote display device to be displayed thereon, and identify theplurality of product links associated with a particular category of theplurality of product categories in response to a user input selection ofone of the plurality of product categories, wherein the server isfurther configured to transmit the identified plurality of product linksto the remote display device to be displayed on the screen inconjunction with at least one of the plurality of product categories andthe live video feed, and wherein, in response to a user selecting aparticular link of the plurality of product links, the server is furtherconfigured to transmit to the remote display device the prerecordedvideo presentation associated with the particular link for display onthe screen.
 16. The e-commerce system of claim 15, wherein the server isfurther configured to transmit to the remote display device anelectronic user input mechanism for display on at least a portion of thescreen, the user input mechanism being configured to enable the user topurchase an item associated with the selected link.
 17. The e-commercesystem of claim 15, wherein the prerecorded video presentation includesa plurality of video segments, each segment presenting a product or setof products, where the segments are in a first order, and wherein theplurality of product links are displayed in a second order based atleast in part on the first order.
 18. The e-commerce system of claim 15,wherein the prerecorded video presentation automatically begins playingon the screen in response to the user selecting the particular link ofthe plurality of product links.
 19. The e-commerce system of claim 15,wherein the prerecorded video presentation is played on the screen inresponse to the user selecting the prerecorded video presentation to beplayed on the screen.
 20. A system for presenting product information ona display device, the system-comprising: a database configured to storea plurality of video segments, at least one video segment including aproduct presentation associated with a respective product of a pluralityof products; a processor configured to: access metadata in at least oneof a video file of a live video feed or a database associated with thelive video feed, the metadata indicating video file identifiers relatingto a product associated with the live video feed, identify, based on theaccessed metadata, a plurality of product categories with at least oneof the plurality of product categories including the product associatedwith the live feed, embed, with the live video feed, programinstructions for displaying the plurality of product categoriesconcurrently with the live video feed, and a server configured totransmit to a remote display device having a screen, the embeddedprogram instructions and the live video feed to be displayedconcurrently thereon, wherein the processor is further configured to:identify a plurality of product links in response to receiving a userinput selection of a particular product category and the server isconfigured to transmit the plurality of product links with the livevideo feed to the remote display device to be concurrently displayed onthe screen, identify the at least one video segment in response toreceiving a user input selection of one of the plurality of productlinks, and wherein the server is further configured to transmit to theremote display device the video segment associated with the selectedproduct link for display of the video segment on the screen.
 21. Thee-commerce system of claim 20, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to generate a video stream including an ordered presentationof the stored video segments, and wherein the server is furtherconfigured to transmit the video stream to the remote display device inresponse to the user selection of the particular link from the pluralityof links.
 22. The e-commerce system of claim 21, wherein the videostream begins at the point in the ordered presentation where the productpresentation associated with the particular product selected begins. 23.The e-commerce system of claim 20, wherein the server is furtherconfigured to transmit to the remote display device an electronic userinput mechanism for display on at least a portion of the screen, theuser input mechanism being configured to enable the user to purchase anitem associated with the selected link.
 24. The e-commerce system ofclaim 20, wherein the prerecorded video presentation automaticallybegins playing on the screen in response to the user selecting theparticular link of the plurality of product links.
 25. The e-commercesystem of claim 20, wherein the prerecorded video presentation is playedon the screen in response to the user selecting the prerecorded videopresentation to be played on the screen.